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Referee Chapron suspended 3 months after kicking out at player before sending him off

French referee Tony Chapron, who kicked out at a Nantes player and then sent him off, has been suspended for three months (plus three months of probation).

Chapron had been stood down from duty by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) following the incident in Paris St Germain's 1-0 win over Nantes on January 14. He had been knocked to the ground in an accidental collision with Diego Carlos before kicking out at the Nantes defender and showing him a second yellow card.

Chapron's punishment was decided by the LFP disciplinary committee at a hearing on Thursday night. 'After hearing Mr. Tony Chapron and reading the instructor's report, the commission decided to suspend him for six months, three of which were suspended,' a post read on lfp.fr. Chapron apologised the day after the incident and Carlos' second yellow card was rescinded.

On the night of the Ligue 1 fixture, Nantes president Waldemar Kita called for Chapron to be banned for six months. "I got 20 text messages from all over the world telling me the referee was a joke', Kita told L'Equipe. "What do you want me to say? If I talk too much I will be called before the disciplinary committee. We don't have the right to say anything. It's scandalous to see that. He gives a red card to a player who did nothing. He needs to go back to school. It's amateurish. I've never seen anything like it. He needs to be suspended for six months. If we did it, we would be banned for six months". The French newspaper on Thursday reported that the official had announced weeks before the incident that he would retire at the end of the season.